Flight 93 Memorial receives federal grant

A bipartisan foursome of Pennsylvania lawmakers thanked the U.S. Transportation Department Tuesday for approving a $3 million grant dedicated to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County.

The site honoring the 40 passengers and crew that died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 requires upgrades to improve access to the memorial, federal lawmakers told U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a letter earlier this year.

The $3 million in federal dollars will be used to construct a "wetlands pedestrian bridge" to the site and another road from the memorial to the main entrance.

U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, Democrat, and Pat Toomey, Republican, and U.S. Reps. Bill Shuster, Republican, and Mark Critz, Democrat, who had signed the January 31 letter requesting the grants, issued a joint press release thanking for the money.

“The brave passengers on Flight 93 deserve to be recognized for their valor and sacrifice,” Casey said. “This grant will bring the Flight 93 National Memorial closer to completion, and I look forward to the day when the families of the passengers of Flight 93 – and all Americans – have a permanent symbol of our nation’s resolve.”

“The events of Sept. 11 forever changed our nation, and we must honor and remember those affected by that day. This memorial pays tribute to these fallen heroes and reminds the American people of their tremendous sacrifices, and this grant will put the Flight 93 Memorial one important step closer to completion,” Toomey said.

Last week, Toomey also put out a statement recognizing the christening of a U.S. Navy ship: the U.S.S. Somerset, named in honor of the town where Flight 93 crashed.

“Wherever the U.S.S. Somerset goes, so will a piece of Southwest Pennsylvania," Toomey said. "The bow of the ship includes steel from a dragline adjacent to the crash side in Stonycreek Township, where it was a silent witness to an indelible act of American courage and strength in defiance of those who would do us harm."